Connecticut Telephone Announces Launch of Commercial Broadband Service

Connecticut Telephone and Communications Systems, Inc., a privately held telecommunications service provider, announced today the launch of its new commercial-grade Digital Subcriber Line (DSL) service available to businesses in the Hartford metropolitan area.

Hartford, CT, September 3, 2001 - Connecticut Telephone and Communications Systems, Inc., a privately held telecommunications service provider, announced today the launch of its new commercial-grade Digital Subcriber Line (DSL) service available to businesses in the Hartford metropolitan area.

Connecticut Telephone's DSL solutions are designed to provide high-speed Internet access and reliable connectivity to help Hartford area companies meet their business needs. Utilizing its own, state-of -the-art broadband network that is monitored 24/7, end-to-end, Connecticut Telephone is introducing a full suite of broadband solutions including those addressing the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as enterprise businesses that use Wide Area Networks for remote access.

"We have built our own facilities-based network specifically designed for businesses seeking robust Internet access solutions," said David Epstein, Connecticut Telephone's CEO. "It is also ideal for those wishing to securely extend their existing Local or Wide Area Networks (LAN/WAN) to remote locations," he added. Connecticut Telephone's offering includes economical local and long distance telephone service, coupled with high-speed Internet connections over a commercial grade DSL network.

An integral part of this network is a state-of-the-art network operations center (NOC) that monitors the company's network on a full time basis. "We believe in taking a proactive approach to troubleshooting," Epstein said. He went on, "It's not enough to monitor the network for problems, you've got to catch them before they occur." The NOC is connected to the network by fully redundant fiber optic trunks from multiple providers.

Another critical piece of the network is Connecticut Telephone's new custom-designed data center featuring fully redundant Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems, raised floors, separate HVAC temperature control system, and a Halon fire suppression system. The data center houses the core of Connecticut Telephone's broadband network, and also provides infrastructure for companies that require an alternative to developing and maintaining an in-house network and staff to maintain their own system.

Although Connecticut telephone's broadband service is currently only available to Hartford area businesses, additional towns in the state will be coming online over the next couple of months, and the company expects to be serving approximately 70% of the state by the fourth quarter of this year.
                

About Connecticut Telephone

Founded in 1985, Connecticut Telephone is Connecticut's largest independent telecommunications service provider and its only facility based provider focused solely on the state of Connecticut. It currently provides broadband data, local phone, long distance, cellular, paging and dialup Internet access services to over 100,000 business and residential customers in Connecticut.